Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Acts 22:30-23:11
Acts
22:30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by
the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all
the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him
stand before them.
Acts
23:1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have
fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the
high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the
mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You
sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by
commanding that I be struck!”
4
Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high
priest!”
5
Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it
is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’[a]”
6
Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees,
called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from
Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the
dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no
resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees
believe all these things.)
9
There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were
Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this
man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The
dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to
pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by
force and bring him into the barracks.
11
The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you
have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
-- since the officially sanctioned
church in China is nothing more than a political arm of the Chinese Government
and pastors are restricted in what they can preach from the Bible, the true
church in China exists in hidden, small communities of faith that are known as
part of the underground church
-- these underground churches
consist of only a handful of members in each community – they don’t travel
together – they meet in homes and basements and hidden locations – they meet
behind locked doors – and they change their meeting times and days to keep the
Chinese government from noticing them
-- I read about the time that one of
these underground churches was having a worship service – they were huddled in
a small, closed room – the door was locked – and the believers quietly praised
God so that their neighbors would not hear
-- when suddenly, there was a
booming sound at the door and it was kicked open – armed Chinese soldiers
filled the room – and the people huddled together in fear – the leader of the
soldiers announced, “Anyone in here who is not a Christian or who is willing to
recant their faith may leave” – at that pronouncement, several of the people
there jumped up and rushed out into the night air
-- after they had left, the
remaining members looked at one another in the knowledge that their lives were
about to end or that they were facing imprisonment and torture – the leader of
the soldiers walked to the open door, closed it, and locked it behind him
-- he turned around and faced the
group and said, “Now that we have gotten rid of all the unbelievers, let the
true church worship God together,” – and he fell to his knees and lifted the
group up in prayer
-- what do we do when our faith is
under trial? – what do we do when we are faced with persecution or legal action
because of our belief in Jesus?
-- these questions are everyday
occurrences in the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters scattered
across the world – for they face the threat of persecution, imprisonment,
torture, and even death on a daily basis – they live in the knowledge that
their faith may put them on trial at any moment – but still they persist in their
steadfast belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior
-- this is exactly the situation in
the passage that we are looking at this morning from the Book of Acts, as we
are continuing in our sermon series through this book
-- as we looked at last week, the
missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul have ended, and Paul has come to
Jerusalem at the prompting of the Holy Spirit to deliver an offering to the
saints and to share the good news of the Gentiles who had turned from paganism
to true faith in Jesus through Paul’s sharing of the gospel over the last
twenty years
-- but here in the sunset of Paul’s
ministry, life was not a bed of roses – or maybe it was – because the thorns
were still there, and we’re going to see Paul get pricked by thorns in this
passage – as the persecutions – the trials and the tribulations that he
experienced on the mission field – have followed him into Jerusalem and into
the temple of God
-- our passage this morning spans
from Acts 22:30 to the end of Chapter 24 – and addresses Paul’s arrest by the
Romans and his trials before the Sanhedrin and Governor Felix
-- and if you back out of this
passage and look from it as a whole, you will see it reflects the same pattern
that Paul experienced throughout his missionary journeys – first, the gospel
was preached to the Jews, who then rebelled against the word and against the
messenger – and then, the gospel was preached to the Gentiles – as we look at
this passage, you will see the same exact scenario play out, just on a larger
scale
-- so, with that long introduction,
let us turn back to Acts 22:30 and let’s see what we can learn from God’s word
about sharing the gospel, the threats and the dangers that come against those
who do, and how we should respond in the face of hostility or unkind audiences
–but,
before we do so, let me remind you also that even in the face of trials and
tribulations – even in the midst of dangers and persecutions – God is still
with us, as He was with Paul
–
no matter what you are going through – no matter what our country or this world
is going through -- God is still on His throne – He is still in charge – and if
He allowed these things to happen to us, then it is for His glory and good will
ultimately come from it – if not in this life, then in the next
II. Scripture Lesson (Acts 22:30-24:27)
-- look back now at Acts 22:30 and
let’s read the first part of that verse
Acts
22:30a The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by
the Jews.
-- stop there – this sentence
captures the heart of this entire passage – the commander wanted to find out
exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews
–
in other words, God is about to use Paul to share the gospel to both the Romans
and the Jews, for that is the reason Paul was on trial – and this time, God is
going to have Paul speak to the leaders of both nations – the Jewish Sanhedrin
and the governors, kings, and the very emperor of the nation of Rome
--
this verse reminds us of what is important – like we mentioned last week, we
can get hung up on things that are not important at all – we can spend our time
arguing over nonessential items and miss the big picture of sharing the truth
of Jesus with a world longing for truth and life and light
--
for instance, the story is told about the time Hannibal, the Carthaginian
general, threatened Rome with his army and how the leaders of the church at
that time -- rather than providing wise counsel or advice to Rome -- chose
instead to gather in conference to argue about how many angels could dance on
the head of a pin
--
and while this story is probably not historically accurate or true, it does
paint the picture that we are talking about here – too often we spend time
arguing over nonessential things like angels dancing on the head of a pin while
Rome burns down around us
--
we need to stop getting upset over the little things – even the little
injustices or personal violations that we face – and instead focus on the big
picture – which is sharing the truth of God’s word with all those around us –
just as Paul is being given an opportunity to do in this passage
--
verse 30
Acts
22:30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by
the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all
the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him
stand before them.
Acts
23:1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have
fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the
high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the
mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You
sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by
commanding that I be struck!”
4
Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high
priest!”
5
Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it
is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
--
at the request of the Roman commander, Paul was brought before the Sanhedrin –
the Jewish ruling council that oversaw all aspects of Jewish life – religious,
political, social, cultural
--
the commander wanted to find out why Paul was being beaten by the Jews the day
before – as Paul is brought before them, he looks around at this group of
Jewish leaders and proclaims that he has fulfilled his duty to God in all good
conscience – in other words, Paul is saying that he has been a true and
faithful Jew and followed the law, just as we talked about last week
--
this was the crux of the issue that caused the Jews to rush Paul out of the
temple in the first place and to begin beating him – they believed that Paul
was living contrary to God’s word and was teaching others to do the same – so,
Paul’s proclamation here was a direct refutation of the charges against him –
and it infuriated the high priest and the members of the Sanhedrin
--
the high priest ordered him struck and then Paul rebuked him for doing so –
when we share the gospel with others – when we try to live for Christ as the
Bible directs – we are going to get struck by this world
--
as Jesus told His followers, the world was going to hate them because of Him –
in John 15:18-19, He said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated
me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is,
you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is
why the world hates you.”
--
the world is always going to lash out and strike true followers of Christ – the
same way the Jews struck Paul in this passage
--
when Paul was told that he had insulted the high priest, he said he did not
realize that he was the high priest – and that can mean several different
things – first, it could simply mean that Paul didn’t physically recognize him
– most scholars agree that Paul had poor eyesight – it could be that he didn’t
see the high priest’s face clear enough to know who he was
--
or it could mean that Paul didn’t recognize the high priest from a spiritual
standpoint – that the high priest was not acting like a man of God when he had
Paul struck or when he had Jesus put on trial or when he used politics and
political scheming to gain personal power
--
it could also be a jab back at the Jews because they were still clinging to the
law and man’s appointed high priests instead of Jesus – who the Bible says in
Hebrews is our High Priest who made sacrifice for us once and for all – never
to be repeated again
--
verse 6-10
Acts
23:6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others
Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee,
descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the
resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the
Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say
that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits,
but the Pharisees believe all these things.)
9
There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were
Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this
man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The
dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to
pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by
force and bring him into the barracks.
--
Paul was a brilliant man and his skills in debate had been honed to a sharp
edge over twenty years of presenting the gospel to hostile groups across Europe
and Asia – and knowing that the Pharisees and Sadducees were already at odds –
and knowing that his position on the resurrection was not that different from
what the Pharisees taught – he used that as a wedge to divide the Jewish
council and make the case that the whole controversy revolved around whether
the resurrection of Jesus was true or not
--
the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, so they could
not accept Jesus risen from the dead – the Pharisees believed in a future
resurrection, so they could accept Jesus’ resurrection as believable, even if
they had not reached the point of accepting Him as their Messiah yet
--
so, Paul was able to move the Pharisees closer to the truth, while scoring
points in his legal favor – when Paul shouted that the whole issue was about
the resurrection, the Sanhedrin erupted in chaos – arguments and physical
fights broke out – and several attacked Paul
--
the Roman Commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by the crowd,
so he had his troops go into the midst of the fight and pull Paul out and take
him back to the barracks, where Paul was imprisoned
--
verse 11
Acts
23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As
you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
--
Paul was no stranger to prison – we have seen him thrown into jail multiple
times in the Book of Acts, and this is not different – but Paul must have been
questioning the situation in his mind – to what end was this imprisonment? – was
this the end of his ministry?
--
but the Lord Himself came and stood near Paul in the middle of the night and
spoke to Paul’s wavering heart – “Take courage! As you have testified about Me
in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome”
--
God was with Paul even in the midst of this trial – and God had allowed this to
happen, so that Paul might be sent to Rome, where he would testify to the
leaders of Rome about Jesus and the good news of salvation and eternal life
through Him
--
for Paul, this act of grace from Jesus was like a drop of water on a parched
land – Paul’s desire had been to go to Rome – to the heart of the empire – to
the very seat of power on earth in his day – to carry the gospel
--
in Acts 19:21, Paul wrote, “I must visit Rome also” – and in Romans 1:15, he
wrote to the church in Rome that he was eager to preach the gospel to those who
were in Rome
--
Paul’s plan to reach Rome to preach the gospel certainly didn’t include prison,
but God is using this situation and turning it to the best – fulfilling both
Paul’s desire to go to Rome and bringing glory to God’s name, at the same time
--
following the disturbance in the Sanhedrin, a group of zealous Jews – probably
either belonging to the sect of the Sadducees or the Zealots – came to the
chief priests and elders and told them they had taken a vow to kill Paul
--
they concocted a scheme to have Paul taken from the Roman prison back to the
Sanhedrin, and they planned on killing him while he was enroute – Paul’s nephew
heard about this and told Paul – who, in turn, sent the boy to the Roman
commander
--
when the commander heard about this, he decided to send Paul out of Jerusalem –
not only for Paul’s safety – but also for pragmatic reasons – first, he didn’t
want the death of a Roman citizen on his record, because that wouldn’t go well
for him – second, he could curry favor with the Roman governor and promote
himself as a loyal Roman citizen and superior commander, at the same time – and
third, he could stop the riots within his own jurisdiction
--
so, the commander wrote a letter about Paul and the issue to Governor Felix and
sent Paul by night with a strong Roman escort, almost 500 people – seventy
horsemen, two hundred soldiers, and two hundred spearmen – to Governor Felix’s
palace in Caesarea
--
they stopped for the night in Antipatris, which was a town located about 30-40
miles northwest of Jerusalem near the Mediterranean Sea – and then the horsemen
carried Paul on to Caesarea
--
skip down to verse 31-35
Acts 23:31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders,
took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32
The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the
barracks. 33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to
the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and
asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said,
“I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul
be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
--
when Paul arrived in Caesarea, the Roman soldiers passed on the letter of
introduction from Commander Lysias to Governor Felix – Felix was the governor
for the region of Judea from 52 to 60 AD, so this gives us an idea of when Paul
was brought before him
--
Felix asked Paul what region of Rome he was from – and when he heard Paul was
from Cilicia, he agreed to hear his case – Felix was not the governor over
Cilicia, but Felix had the authority to handle cases involving Roman citizens
within the regional sphere of jurisdiction that included Cilicia and Syria --
so, Felix chose to hear the case himself rather than transferring Paul to a
different regional ruler
--
he had Paul transferred to Herod’s palace to await trial -- Herod's palace was
originally built for Herod the Great, but was now used as the home and office
for the Governor of Judea – Governor’s homes and offices were called
praetoriums, so you may see this in some translations of the Bible
--
there were several praetoriums scattered throughout the Roman Empire for the
various regional governors, with praetoriums in Rome, Ephesus, Jerusalem,
Caesarea, and other places
--
so, Paul was held there until his case could be heard, which would occur as
soon as his Jewish accusers came to Caesarea
--
Governor Felix was not a Jew, but his wife Drusilla was – and Felix was
familiar with the Christian faith – which Paul and the early Christians called,
“the Way” – they took this name from Jesus’ proclamation that He was the Way
and the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except through
Him
--
so, when the Jews showed up in Caesarea with their lawyer Tertullus and begin
to make their case before Felix, he already has a foundational understanding of
the situation – he was not a Christian – but he knew enough about the faith and
the differences between Judaism and the Way to grasp what was going on
--
the Jews presented their case and then Paul gave his statement about the
incident – pointing out that he had done nothing wrong and that there was no
legal grounds for him to be in chains – the true issue was spiritual and
revolved around the truth of the resurrection of Christ, which Paul proclaimed
as the gospel and which the high priest and the elders steadfastly opposed
--
skip over to Acts 24:22-23
Acts 24:22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with
the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said,
“I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard
but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.
--
after hearing both sides, Felix didn’t make a decision one way or the other – and
as we go forth to share the gospel and live our lives for Christ in the world,
we need to be aware that this is going to be the same response from so many we
speak to
--
people are going to ride the fence – they are not going to make a decision one
way or the other – but are going to try to keep one foot in the world and one
foot in heaven
--
that’s why polls show confusing statistical trends among Americans – for
instance, about 70% of Americans believe there is a literal heaven – and about
60% believe they will go to heaven when they die
--
but at the same time, only about 20% of Americans attend worship services
weekly – and almost 60% have never attended a worship service
--
so, we say we believe in heaven and we think we are going to go, but we don’t
go to church and are not Christians in any real sense of the word
--
by and large, we just won’t commit to the truth – we are indecisive –
fence-sitters – just like Felix – we won’t make a decision for or against Jesus
--
Felix apparently did get the idea that Paul was innocent of any real charges,
though – because he had him moved from a prison cell to a home where he would
be under guard, but with some freedoms – he also allowed Paul’s friends to take
care of his needs – although that wasn’t simply an act of grace on Felix’s part
– it was also pragmatic, since Paul’s friends would be responsible for
providing Paul’s food, clothes, and any necessities – it was a common way for
the Roman government to keep people as prisoners without having to provide them
with anything to keep them alive
--
verse 24-27
Acts 24:24 Several days later Felix came with his wife
Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke
about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul talked about righteousness,
self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s
enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”
26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent
for him frequently and talked with him.
27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by
Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left
Paul in prison.
--
Felix routinely would have Paul come before him and Drusilla and speak to them
about his faith in Christ Jesus and the beliefs that led to him being arrested
– Paul spoke truth to power – sharing with Felix and his wife the truth about
righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come
--
the Spirit was working on Felix’s heart – and he was convicted and became
afraid – but, once again, he wouldn’t take that step of faith that would lead
to freedom and salvation and eternal life in Christ
--
when Paul’s words became too much – too real – too convicting for him – he
would send Paul away until a later time – we also read that he was hoping that
Paul would bribe him to get out of jail – but Paul wasn’t going to do that,
because he was fulfilling the promise that God had given to him – that he would
preach the gospel to the Gentile leaders, even in Rome
--
after two years passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus – this would have
been in 60 AD – but even as Felix left office as Governor, he refused to
release Paul because he wanted to grant a favor to the Jews – this was simply
Felix’s way of keeping the peace, because he knew the Jews would react harshly
if he turned Paul loose
--
so, we come to the end of today’s passage with Paul in jail because of the
gospel and his belief in the resurrection – and we will pick up the story of
the gospel on trial next week as we move on in the final chapters of the Book
of Acts
III. Closing
-- what can we learn from this story
of Paul that we can apply to our lives today?
-- first, Paul’s story reminds us of
the calling that all of us share – we began this study in the Book of Acts
focusing on Christ’s command in Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”
-- just like Paul, we are called to
share the good news of the gospel with all we come into contact with – as
Christians, we can do no less
-- evangelism – the sharing of the
gospel with others – has been described as one beggar telling another beggar
where to find bread – with that Bread being the Bread of Heaven
-- everyday, you tell a story about
the gospel to others – sometimes, you do so in words – but most often, you do
so with your life – how you live – what you say – what you spend your money on
– where you spend your time – how you treat those around you – these are all
part of the gospel message you are sharing – and we need to be mindful of who
we are and who we are called to be in Christ
-- second, Paul’s story reminds us
that the world is generally hostile to the truth of the gospel – the Bible
tells us that this world is under the control of the prince of the power of the
air – Satan himself – and Satan uses his authority in this world to spread evil
and to confront the truth of God’s word and God’s people where he can
-- if you are living for Christ, you
will always find yourself in conflict with someone or something – the world and
Satan hates Jesus and the people of Jesus, and so they will always be opposed
to Him and His word and His people
-- sometimes this takes the form of
ridicule and mockery – sometimes it takes the form of legal action – sometimes
it takes the form of persecution and imprisonment or even death
-- but be aware it is a reality of
being a follower of Jesus – as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:12, “do not be
surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though
something strange were happening to you.” – persecution and opposition are not
strange, but normal for the people of God
-- third, Paul’s story reminds us
that God redeems our trials and tribulations and uses them for His glory – Paul
did not intend on getting arrested when he went to Jerusalem, but it happened –
and God allowed it to happen and used it to get Paul before kings and queens
and Gentile rulers, eventually Nero himself
-- no matter what trial or
tribulation you face, know that God has not abandoned you – God is with you and
God will take care of you – and He will use your trials to bring glory to His
name
-- Christ calls us to carry His
message to the world, regardless of the cost – and He promises to be with us –
to never leave us or forsake us – but to empower us through His Spirit to be
who He has called us to be and to do what He has called us to do
-- so, take heart in the name of
Christ – stand firm in the faith – and carry His message of life and hope to
this world – for that is our calling
-- let us pray
No comments:
Post a Comment